This invention relates to shopping carts and childrens' strollers, and in particular to a stroller which may be easily and quickly converted from a stroller into a shopping cart when the stroller function is not needed.
An infant or a child is often restrained and moved about by its parents in a stroller. Strollers have been developed in many different forms and shapes, from relatively inexpensive collapsible strollers to fixed strollers of substantial construction which are provided by department stores, shopping malls and the like as a convenience for their customers during shopping.
Most strollers, however, are simply that--a stroller only. If the stroller is not needed for child care, it is simply not used. In a commercial setting, where ease and convenience are balanced against cost and durability, often a stroller which serves only that function is not economically justifiable.
Convertible strollers or chairs, which can be converted into a cart, have been developed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,892 is directed to a folding carrier arrangement which, among other things, can be converted into a chair. It does not retain its cart configuration when converted to the chair. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,674 discloses a transportable playpen-like structure which includes a seat which can be deployed in the playpen. Presumably, the playpen could also be used as a receptacle for other items when the seat is not used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,049 discloses a stroller including a container for retaining additional items. The structure is partly collapsible for storage, but in use, the stroller seat is always deployed. A different type of stroller is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,813 which can comprise a shopping cart when an infant seat is folded out of the way, and can comprise a stroller when the infant seat is folded horizontally over the container portion. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,724 discloses an upright shopping cart which can include an internal seat for a child, and therefore comprise a type of stroller when the seat is deployed.
While the prior art discloses various types of strollers and/or shopping carts, none of the prior art discloses a simple, substantial stroller which is readily convertible into a shopping cart without either significant revision and folding of the structure, or formation of the structure in a manner inconvenient for use as a stroller. Also, because of the nature of the structures of the prior art, users are unaccustomed to their rather strange sizes and shapes, which detract from their acceptance by those intended to use them. There is therefore a need in the market for a conventional type of stroller which is readily convertible into a shopping cart when the stroller function is no longer needed.